Barbed wire is seen at the Santa Barbara County Detention and Correctional Facility in Santa Barbara, California, on June 12, 2005. (Getty Images)
"People with gender dysphoria, including those held in jails and prisons, are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are entitled to equal access to medical care just like anyone else with a disability," assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Monday. "Delays or refusals to provide medical treatment for people with gender dysphoria can cause irreparable harm, including debilitating distress, depression, attempts at self-treatment and even death by suicide. The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of all people with disabilities in our country, including those who experience gender dysphoria — and those rights are not given up at the jailhouse door."
The DOJ claims the UDOC "has also imposed unnecessary eligibility criteria for evaluation and treatment for gender dysphoria for incarcerated persons at UDOC that it does not require for other health conditions."
The filing also says the UDOC denied all the inmate's requests, including modifying pat searches, providing female makeup, clothing and other items in the commissary to match the prisoner's gender identity. Additionally, the UDOC did not "individually assess her housing requests" to be transferred to a women's prison, and denied requests for male-to-female hormone prescriptions, according to the DOJ.
Trans flag. (ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
Last month, the DOJ's investigation of the state's penitentiary found officials had "unnecessarily delayed" the transgender inmate's requests. While UDOC does not comment on pending litigation, corrections executive director Brian Redd said last month the state was "blindsided" by the DOJ's investigation findings, and said "we fundamentally disagree with the DOJ on key issues, and are disappointed with their approach."
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The DOJ's lawsuit comes as several states are moving to provide more access to sex-change surgical procedures and non-invasive prescriptions. While California became the first state in 2017 to grant these services to inmates in 2017, Colorado is also poised to become the first state in the country with segregated holding cells for transgender women in prison.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-sues-utah-discrimination-based-gender-dysphoria-transgender-prisoner